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Cam Newton—Hell Yes!

Cam Newton, the freakishly talented new quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, talks about dealing with the stratospheric expectations that come with being the number-one pick

Character question raised: Can Cam Newton create trust and lead under pressure? And answered: Last year, as Auburn football was nearly engulfed by allegations that Newton's dad sought payola for his quarterbacking services, Cam delivered the greatest season any college athlete has ever had, replete with no losses, the BSC National Championship, and the Heisman. Did you see that forty-nine-yard pachinko-ball dash against LSU? Or the 24–0 deficit he erased at 'Bama? Time and again, Newton waded into the lagoon in which his ten buddies had driven their pickup and flung the whole thing back onto the road. Gaudy as these exploits were, it was what you didn't see that may be the best indicator of what the number one overall draft pick will bring as a Carolina Panther. No matter how tight the squeeze, you never saw Cam Newton frustrated or even tense. A guy who generates 62 percent of his team's overall offense may be on fire, but he's not tense.

Cam remains calm now, as we talk about the rap against him as a passer— that he'll never acquire pocket discipline and downfield "vision" because he'll instinctually rely on his feet, as he always has. I ask if this is a fair question, or a retread of that old ugly trope about black quarterbacks being "natural athletes" and white quarterbacks being "students of the game."

"Sir," he says with granite certainty, "it all comes down to whether a person wins or loses. I don't bring race into the game, 'cause then you're talking about excuses. I. Hate. Excuses. Excuses are a disease."